1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to trailers. More specifically, it relates to trailers having tongues or drawbars that have a side-to-side, swiveling attachment to a flat bed, to clear a towing vehicle during loading and unloading of cargo from the front end of the trailer; and a joint in the drawbar that enables the trailer to tilt downwardly at either its front or rear end, so that cargo can easily be loaded or unloaded by one person from the front or rear of the trailer. The invention also includes a novel cargo rack that can be adjusted for carrying various sizes and shapes of cargo items; and a special joint that can allow upward bending of the drawbar, downward bending, rigidity, and separation of the drawbar into two parts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Trailers having swiveling tongues are known in the prior art, e.g.: U.S. Pat. No. 2,828,029 "Boat Trailer" to R. G. Easley; U.S. Pat. No. 2,582,595 "Adjustable Tongue for Motorless Vehicles" to C. I. Leveke; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,417,646 "Drawbar Unit" to D. E. Hallner.
Also, tilting trailers, and trailers wherein tilting is accomplished by means of joints in drawbars, are also known. Examples of such trailers are taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,102,649 "Trailer Tilting Apparatus" to F. B. Whalen; U.S. Pat. No. 3,692,362 "Tipping Trailers" to J. B. L. Craske; U.S. Pat. No. 2,534,665 "Lift Tow Hitch" to L. O. Greeley; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,084,954 "Trailer Drawbar Hitch" to E. Schlueter.
However, none of these patents teaches the combination of a laterally-swiveling drawbar with a joint therein that can easily be: (1) restricted to downward bending; (2) restricted to upward bending; (3) made rigid: or (4) separated, as is taught in the present invention. These attributes promote easy loading and unloading of cargo from the front or rear of the trailer, or disconnection of the trailer from a towing vehicle--all by one person.